Stop Investing Funds Outside Africa, Afreximbank Tells Nigeria, Others
The President of Afreximbank, Prof. Benedict Oramah has urged the federal government and other countries in Africa to stop investing their funds outside the shores of the continent
Oramah said this on Monday at the 4th annual meeting of the Africa Sovereign Investors Forum, hosted by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.
The ASIF summit, held under the theme “Leveraging African Sovereign Wealth Funds to Mobilise Global Capital for Transformative Development in Africa,” is taking place at a time when Africa is seeking to position itself more firmly in global capital markets.
Hosted by the NSIA and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, the summit drew high-profile participants including Finance Minister Wale Edun, Trade and Investment Minister Jumoke Oduwole, and Afreximbank President Benedict Oramah, among others.
Oramah said that when African Sovereign Wealth Funds and Pension Funds prioritize offshore investments, they inadvertently perpetuate this skewed perception of risk.
This, he noted, signals a lack of confidence in African markets, which discourages both domestic and international co-investors.
He noted that Africa’s Sovereign Wealth Funds, collectively managing assets of over $100bn, often invest abroad, reinforcing perceptions that the continent is too risky for capital.
To counter this, he said sovereign wealth funds have a unique, powerful opportunity to rewrite this narrative by strategically investing within African markets.
By leading with confidence, Oramah said they can attract co-investors and help align perceived risk with reality.
He stated that Africa will remain economically stunted if it continues to channel its financial resources into developed economies rather than investing in its own development.
Oramah said, “Africa possesses significant capital to finance its development and trade. The real problem is that most of these funds, including about $400bn in foreign exchange reserves held by African central banks, are stashed outside of Africa based on neo-colonial ideas embedded in our minds, and which filtered into the policies of these institutions, that our assets are safer with others than with ourselves.
“When African Sovereign Wealth Funds and Pension Funds prioritise offshore investments, they inadvertently perpetuate this skewed perception of risk. This signals a lack of confidence in our own markets, which discourages both domestic and international co-investors. To counter this, our funds have a unique, powerful opportunity to rewrite this narrative by strategically investing within African markets.
“African Sovereign Wealth Funds must evolve beyond mere custodians of surplus to become dynamic catalysts of structural transformation… actively mobilising, de-risking and syndicating capital for industrialisation, wealth creation and regional integration.”
He commended Nigeria’s own efforts, noting that the NSIA laudably allocates about 40 per cent of its investments to domestic projects.
He also urged peer institutions to follow examples from other countries.
Vice President Kashim Shettima called on African countries to deepen regional cooperation and maximise the potential of sovereign wealth funds to drive transformative development across the continent.
He said Africa must rethink how it mobilises and deploys capital, especially through sovereign wealth funds, if it is to close its infrastructure deficit, strengthen climate resilience, and create jobs for its expanding youth population.
The Vice President noted that sovereign wealth funds have moved beyond their traditional role as fiscal buffers and must now become key agents of national and regional development.
He identified limited fiscal space and rising demands for capital as major constraints on the continent, urging innovative thinking and collaboration.
He also welcomed the launch of the ASIF Investment Platform, describing it as a bold move to pool capital and expertise across the continent to finance high-impact, cross-border projects.
ENDS
Stop Investing Funds Outside Africa, Afreximbank Tells Nigeria, Others is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
